- Seven WA small and medium enterprises awarded grant support through the 2025 AUKUS SME Readiness Fund
- Funding to strengthen WA industry capability, competitiveness, and access to AUKUS supply chains
- Strong industry response in inaugural round reflects the depth and maturity of WA's defence sector
- Cook Labor Government providing quality jobs and business opportunities for Western Australians
Seven WA small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have secured significant backing through the AUKUS SME Readiness Fund, positioning local industry to enhance capability, lift competitiveness, and pursue highvalue opportunities within AUKUS supply chains.
Matrix Composites and Engineering, FSC Civils, Terral 5 Technologies, Murlaw, Mig-Co Engineering, Kanyana Engineering, and Rollwell Engineering are the successful recipients of the grant funding. The businesses represent a diverse crosssection of Western Australia's defence industry and have demonstrated strong capability and readiness to engage in AUKUS supply chains.
The funding will help them enhance their technical capability, capacity, and credentials to participate in Australian, United States, and United Kingdom defence markets. This includes emerging opportunities linked to the industrial base supporting Australia's nuclearpowered submarine enterprise and that of AUKUS trilateral partners.
The 2025 grant round was delivered through the $2 million AUKUS SME Readiness Fund - a fouryear program offering matched grants of up to $100,000 to help WA SMEs invest in the skills, systems, and processes needed to strengthen their capability and competitiveness in AUKUS supply chains.
The inaugural round attracted 36 applications from across the State, with the volume and quality of submissions exceeding available funding and underscoring the strength, depth, and growing competitiveness of WA's SME defence sector.
The AUKUS SME Readiness Fund was designed in line with the Made in WA Plan, to broaden the number of WA businesses able to access AUKUS Pillar I and Pillar II opportunities, while strengthening the resilience and competitiveness of the State's defence industrial base.
For more information on the AUKUS SME Readiness Fund, visit: www.wa.gov.au/organisation/defence-west/the-aukus-sme-readiness-fund
As stated by Defence Industries Minister Paul Papalia:
"Western Australia has the capability, the expertise, and the industrial base to play a major role in supporting AUKUS, and these businesses are proof of that.
"We're seeing more WA companies step up and position themselves to compete for work tied to one of the most significant defence and industrial undertakings in decades.
"These grants will help local SMEs build the systems, skills and credentials they need to break into highly competitive US and UK defence supply chains and secure long-term opportunities.
"This is about growing sovereign capability here in Western Australia, backing local industry, and creating skilled jobs for the future.
"Through our Made in WA Plan, we are ensuring WA businesses are well placed to benefit from the opportunities AUKUS will deliver over the long term."
